Natural Science
by whoa nellie
Summary: Four months after the events of 'Affinity', Teal'c and the SGC get a little surprise.


Title: Natural Science

Author: Whoa Nellie

Series: Stargate

Rating: PG-13

Codes: Teal'c/Krista, SGC

Summary: Four months after the events of 'Affinity', Teal'c and the SGC get a little surprise.

Author's notes: Feel free to archive anywhere pertinent. This was written for a sci-fi fanfic challenge on the Trekbbs. The challenge theme was: 'What Lies Beneath'; this is a slightly extended version as the original challenge was limited to 2500 words.

We don't own Stargate nor are we making any money on this.

Feedback is always appreciated - posted or e-mail.

NATURAL SCIENCE

She didn't even stop to see how much damage her last blow caused; all that mattered was that he was no longer holding her. Grabbing her coat and purse, she ran with no real idea of where she was going, she just knew that she couldn't stay at her apartment.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Hello?" Daniel Jackson cautiously approached the huddled form sitting near his apartment door. It was a young woman with long, dark hair with her face buried in her arms, preventing him from identifying her.

"Dr. Jackson, I've been waiting for you; I need your help."

It wasn't hard to place her once she looked up at him. "Krista . . . James, right? Why--how did you find me?"

"Google," was her one word answer. "I need to find Teal'c, it's urgent. Since he used to at least pretend to work for you, you must know where he is now or how to contact him or something."

Daniel extended his hand to help her up from the floor. "What do you mean 'pretended'?"

"He never told me what he really did; I don't even know if Teal'c is his real name but that's not important. I think those men from the warehouse are after me again."

"Okay, we're going to finish this inside," he said quickly. Unlocking the door, he allowed her to enter first and followed, locking the door behind him.

Krista rested her hand across her stomach, fatigue making her nausea worse for the moment. "I wasn't going to tell him, I didn't think I'd ever see him again which probably wasn't fair but--"

Motioning for her to slow down, he gestured toward the couch. "Why don't you sit down. Can I get you something?"

"If you have any ginger ale, if not ice water will be fine," she replied. Seated, she closed her eyes and took a deep, calming breath.

"One ginger ale," Daniel announced, handing her the glass and sitting in a nearby chair with a beer. "Now, let's start at the beginning with those men from the warehouse. You saw them here?" He barely stopped himself before saying 'on Earth' since the last they knew of the trust was that they'd left the solar system with Osirius's ha'tak and the symbiote poison.

Sipping the ginger ale, she nodded. "I didn't recognize him, but his suit and the way he talked made me think of those men and then when he grabbed me, I panicked. I'm just glad I kept practicing the lok'nel stuff that Teal'c taught me. I got away, but I didn't know if I should go to the police . . . I mean if it's the same men from before and they're after Teal'c again then the police might not be able to help him."

Something she'd said as they were entering his apartment struck him. "Why weren't you going to tell him about this? You said something about--"

"Not that," Krista said with a rueful grin. "I was talking about this." She gently caressed her stomach.

"You're--" he nodded hesitantly toward her.

"Almost four months pregnant," she confirmed.

Daniel grimaced as he tried to find the right words. "I'm not sure how to ask this delicately, but--"

"How do I know it's not Doug's?" she finished for him. "I wasn't sure until my last prenatal visit, that's why I wasn't going to try to find Teal'c to tell him. Then something strange turned up in my bloodwork; the doctor didn't understand it and was sending it to some specialists. I'm fine, it was just something he'd never seen before and since Teal'c was obviously more than he seemed, I'm guessing the baby is--oh God! That's where I saw that man before, at my OB/GYN's office."

Reeling from the bomb she'd just dropped on him and dreading the moment when Jack would have to tell Teal'c about the baby, he shook his head. "Okay, the important thing is that you're safe now. Listen, just sit tight, I'm going to make a phone call and then we'll figure out what to do next."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Well, did the rabbit die?" General Jack O'Neill asked, sitting down at the conference table.

Teal'c arched an eyebrow in confusion. "What rabbit?"

"Figure of speech, Teal'c," Samantha Carter said. "Yes, sir, amniocentesis confirms that the baby is Teal'c's. We got her prenatal records from her obstetrician; they detected trace amounts of an unusual protein in her prenatal blood tests. We've identified it as tretonin antibodies."

"In her blood?" Daniel asked. "How is that possible?"

"Bigger question," Jack interrupted. "Don't they have condoms on Chulac?"

"They do not," Teal'c replied somewhat curiously.

Jack sighed. "Of course they don't. How is the expectant mother, by the way?"

"She is resting," Teal'c said. "We have not yet talked of this."

Jack looked over the medical records that Sam handed him. "So who's after her and why?"

Sam reached for the chart. "I can't answer who, but I have a theory about why. You know that Jaffa can't be hosts to the symbiotes; however, the goa'uld did genetically manipulate them to be better soldiers--they are stronger and have longer life spans aside from their dependence on infant symbiotes for an immune system. On top of the original modifications that the Goa'uld made, there's been thousands of years of evolution. It'll take a while to fully map this baby's DNA, but it appears to have both human and Jaffa genetic markers. The Goa'uld have made a number of attempts over the years to produce a better human host . . . "

"And Teal'c and Krista may have succeeded by accident," Daniel commented.

Jack shook his head. "You can't tell me that they haven't tried matching human and Jaffa for a little selective breeding before now. Those snakes may be a lot of things but stupid they're not. Look at what Nirrti was doing with Cassandra's people."

Sam spoke up. "But Teal'c doesn't have a symbiote anymore. It's possible that affected his sperm, not enough to interfere with reproduction with another Jaffa but enough to affect impregnating a human female. Of course the flip side of that could be that the baby is resistant to blending and incubating, like Aris Boch's people, which is another possible explanation for why the Goa'uld never pursued it."

"So if Teal'c here gets every woman on Earth pregnant, we could save the planet from Goa'uld domination," Jack said. "You got it in you, big guy?"

"I don't think that would be necessary, sir," Sam suppressed a chuckle. "The genetic information from the amnio is fascinating and could give us what we need to devise a defense."

Daniel sat back in his chair. "Okay, so I can see why the Goa'uld might like to get their hands on this baby--or at least keep us from studying this baby, but Krista said that this guy reminded her of the men in the warehouse and they were Trust."

"Obviously not all of the ex-NID guys went on their little field trip," Jack observed.

Sam had to ask. "Sir, are we sure it's not our people?"

"I'll put a call in to General Hammond, just to be sure," Jack said. "I'll have to tell him about this sooner or later anyway. In the meantime, what are we going to do with her? I could have Siler paint the gate room a nice pink or blue--do we know if it's a boy or girl?"

Sam looked from Jack to Teal'c. "Do you want to know?"

"Well I wouldn't have asked if I didn't," Jack answered, "Oh, you meant T."

"Yes," Teal'c answered.

"It's a girl," Sam told him. "Congratulations."

Daniel smiled. "Ryac's getting a baby sister."

Jack gestured to Teal'c. "You should talk to Krista. She can stay here until we sort this out, just keep her away from any more sensitive areas than she's already seen. You probably shouldn't tell her that she's in an invasion of the body snatchers story. I mean having an alien's baby is probably not her goal in life; although, if you believe the tabloids, she's got a lot of company."

"I just had a thought," Daniel said.

"A good thought?" Jack asked flippantly.

Daniel's face was taut with consternation. "Probably not. I was just thinking about the tretonin antibodies they found in Krista's blood. That's got to be coming from the baby, right? Since tretonin is ground-up Goa'uld and the Goa'uld have genetic memories, what are the chances that . . ."

"Slim," Sam shook her head no. "The DNA would be so fragmented that it would be highly unlikely that the baby would have even flashes of those memories. At best it might translate to a higher intelligence or easier familiarity with Goa'uld technology but the effect would most likely be marginal."

"But you can't be sure and the Trust is probably just as aware of the possibilities. What about the naquadah?" Jack posed. "Would the baby have the ability to use Goa'uld technology like those hand things?"

Sam studied the medical chart. "This isn't exactly astrophysics, but while tretonin does include trace amounts of naquadah, I'm not sure there would be enough in her system to make a difference. To be honest I'm more worried about the affect it'll have on Krista."

That got Teal'c's attention. "How so?"

"On Pangar, the tretonin destroyed and completely replaced their immune system," Sam began. "It was only with Egeria's help that we were able to wean them off of it. Even this small exposure to tretonin through the placenta might be harmful to Krista's immune system. So far her white count is normal, there's no evidence of any effect to her system beyond the tretonin antibodies in her bloodstream."

"But she's got five months to go," Daniel finished.

Sam offered one last point. "Sir, Dr. Warner is using some of the amniotic fluid to run tests on the tretonin antibodies being produced by the baby to see if they can safely be used in humans without destroying their existing immune systems. He seems to think that it could hold the key to human autoimmune disorders or even cancer. Any way you look at it, a lot of people are going to want to get their hands on this baby."

"I do not wish my daughter to be used for experiments," Teal'c cautioned forcefully. "I will not allow that."

"Nobody will allow that," Jack agreed. "We'll figure something out, we always do."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Teal'c entered the room slowly, moving silently to avoid waking Krista. She looked so very young and innocent in sleep, almost like a child herself. He was so much older than she was and it was entirely his fault that she was now in this position. In trying to be more a part of his adopted world, he had caused her great pain. He settled into the chair beside her bed and sat in silent contemplation.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jack dropped the phone receiver back onto its cradle with a muttered oath of disgust and waved Sam into his office. "I just got off the phone with Hammond."

"I'm guessing he didn't take it well," she observed.

"On the contrary, I think he's going to crochet the baby a blanket," he said. "It's the requests he's already getting from Area 51 to get at Krista and the baby that 's the problem. He could pull some strings to get her a civilian job at White Sands where we could protect her from the Trust, but not even General Hammond has enough pull to protect her from our own government. So, I'm thinking Plan B."

"Plan B, sir?"

Jack threw his hands out. "Of course Plan B, Carter; Plan A never works anyway. I should have known that."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Krista flinched with surprise when her eyes opened to focus on Teal'c sitting at her bedside. "Hi."

"Hi, yourself," he replied in a warm, gentle tone. "I regret the circumstances, but I am pleased to see you again."

She closed her eyes, a tear trickling down one cheek. "I'm sorry, Teal'c; I never meant for this to . . . for you to know . . . I'm sorry."

"You have no need to apologize," he assured her. "You are in danger once again because of me, I am at fault in this situation."

"I was talking about the baby," she said.

Teal'c smiled. "I admit to a certain amount of apprehension at the thought of being a father again. My own son is a grown man with a wife of his own; however, I assure you that I am pleased to be having another child. I promise you that I will provide everything you and our daughter require."

"Daughter?"

"The tests that have been run determined that you are carrying a female baby," he told her.

She smiled and caressed her stomach. "A little girl with her father's eyes."

"She would be more beautiful if she looked like her mother," Teal'c said. "I have thought of you often."

Krista chuckled ruefully. "I've thought of you more than a few times myself. I just wish I understood what was going on here."

"I cannot tell you much," he began only to be interrupted by Jack, Sam and Daniel.

"Change of plans," Jack announced. "You're going to need to tell her the whole story. Hi there, Krista, nice to meet you. I'm General Jack O'Neill and this is Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter; Daniel, there, you already know. Listen, Teal'c's going to explain something pretty weird in a minute but I assure you T here is a great guy. He's saved my life more times than I can count and he's a super dad--well, I don't know how good he is with diapers but he'd do anything for his kid." He paused and gave Teal'c a long look. "That laboratory thing was looking like neither Hammond nor I could stop it, so I made a call. Maybourne's agreed to protect her and the baby. It doesn't even begin to settle his debt with me, but under King Acorn's protection she'll be safe. If there's any problems he can call us and our medical people can keep tabs on her and the baby. I made Maybourne swear that he wouldn't take her as one of his wives but, being ex-N.I.D himself, at least he can make sure they don't get anywhere near her."

Krista eyed them all warily. "What's going on?"

Daniel moved up to sit on the bed. "Krista, this is going to be hard to hear but Teal'c isn't from Mozambique."

"I am from a world known as Chulac," he got right to the point. "I am of a race of people known as Jaffa, taken from this world many thousands of years ago to serve as slaves to a race of aliens known as Goa'uld."

"You just rip that bandage right off, don't you?" Jack observed.

"You're not human," Krista said slowly. "My baby isn't human."

Daniel tried to help. "The Jaffa were human once, they were just genetically altered by the Goa'uld over the generations. Teal'c may have been born on another planet, but his distant ancestors probably were from Mozambique or somewhere in Africa."

"That's why those men are so interested in your baby," Sam offered. "This baby is a first that we know of--a genetic hybrid of human and Jaffa DNA."

"I'm having an alien baby," Krista repeated, "A half-human, half-alien baby. Is this a joke? Tell me this is a joke."

Teal'c reached for her only to stop when she recoiled from him. "This is not meant to be humorous. I did not intend for things to happen between us and I did not intend for you to be hurt or to become pregnant."

"Teal'c's one of the good guys," Jack assured Krista.

Sam motioned toward the door. "I know this is a lot to take in so we'll leave you for a while. Quite a few people would like to get their hands on your baby for a number of different reasons. We've arranged for you to live on a planet where a man from Earth is living among humans from that planet for his own safety. Harry Maybourne is King Arkhan the First and he's agreed to provide you with a place to live and anything you need. It's a beautiful place, it kind of reminds me of British Columbia."

"Now that you mention it," Jack broke in, "it kind of does."

FINIS


End file.
